ESTATE PLANNING

Proper estate planning involves planning for the possibility of incapacity and planning for your death. It involves several documents (such as wills, trusts and powers of attorney) and it involves an analysis of how assets are owned and the proper beneficiary designations for your assets. Aspects of income taxation and estate and gift taxation are an important consideration of all plans. It is important that you have an experienced estate planning attorney guide you through the elements to provide a plan that fits your unique needs.

Who needs an Estate Plan?

Everyone should have an estate plan in place. Some factors to consider include:

Do you have children under the age of 18? A properly drawn estate plan will allow you to name guardians to care for them if you die and allow the financial assets you leave them to be property managed.
Do you have children from a prior relationship you want to protect? A trust or beneficiary designations will allow you to pass assets to your children and provide for a current spouse or partner as you wish.
Are you concerned about your incapacity or concerned about the incapacity of a parent? Having properly prepared powers or attorney or a trust will help make sure you or your parent will be cared for in the best possible manner.
Do you want to leave a lasting legacy to a charity? We can discuss the best way to accomplish this through a trust or beneficiary designations in a manner that reduce taxes to your estate.
Do you want to leave funds to someone that needs some assistance in handling their inheritance? A properly drawn trust will allow you to accomplish your wishes and make sure that your heir receives assets in a way that will benefit him or her.

These are just some of the many ways that an estate plan can benefit you and your heirs.

Will

A will is a legal document that tells the probate court how you want your property distributed after you die, and who has the power and responsibility to wrap up your affairs (your executor). Once appointed by the probate court, your executor will have the authority to gather all of your property, pay any bills and debts you owe, and distribute your remaining property as you specify in your will.

Revocable Trust

A Revocable Trust based estate plan allows you to:

Control your property while you are alive
Take care of you and your loved ones in the event of disability
Pass your property to your heirs when and how you want while maintaining privacy
Ensure that you and your spouse have sufficient assets to maintain your standard of living now and in retirement.
Maintain maximum control and flexibility during your lifetime
Simplify administration as much as possible upon your death or disability (avoiding probate & guardianship)
If married, protect your assets so that they cannot be lost as a result of remarriage after the death of one of you
Protect your children’s or grandchildren’s inheritance from mismanagement
Structure your children’s or grandchildren’s inheritance in such a way that it installs values and virtues
Provide for the education of your children or grandchildren
Reduce the risk of litigation from heirs who receive less than they think they are entitled to
Minimize income taxes to the extent possible
Eliminate as much estate tax as possible

General (Financial) Power of Attorney

A general power of attorney allows you to appoint someone you know and trust to make your financial decisions even when you cannot. If you are incapacitated without these legal documents, a guardianship would be necessary to obtain access to your financial assets and provide for your needs. This is the court proceeding where a judge determines who should make these decisions for you and requires ongoing supervision of the court.

Financial Powers of Attorney come in two forms: “Durable” and “Springing.” A Durable Power of Attorney goes into effect as soon as it is signed, while a Springing Power of Attorney only goes into effect after an event occurs typically when you have been determined to be mentally incapacitated.

Health Care Power of Attorney

A health care power of attorney allows a trusted friend or family member to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to communicate your wishes to doctors whether permanently or temporarily. Without a Health Care Power of Attorney, you must have a guardian appointed by the court before health care decisions can be made on your behalf.

A health care power of attorney not only saves precious decision making time, but it also makes sure that the individual or individuals you trust the most have the power to make these most important decisions for you if you are unable to make the decisions on your own.

Living Will

A living will allows you to state your wishes in advance regarding what types of medical life support measures you prefer to have, or have withheld/withdrawn if you are in a terminal condition (without reasonable hope of recovery) and cannot express your wishes yourself. If you have a Living Will in place your doctors will follow this document with regard to end of life decision making and your Agent in your Health Care Power of Attorney will not make end of life decisions. While everyone should have a Health Care Power of Attorney, a living will is an optional document.

HIPAA Authorization

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), provides that absent a written authorization from the patient, a health care provider cannot disclose medical information to anyone other than the patient or the person appointed as an Agent under the Health Care Power of Attorney. A HIPAA Authorization will allow release of medical information to persons other than you or your Agent. This can be especially helpful to avoid family tension and to allow more people to obtain medical information to make sure that you receive the best care possible.